Amsterdam, March 18. World No. 8 India will face their arch-rivals Pakistan in a Pool D match at 6:30 PM IST on August 19 at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, as part of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026.
India is grouped with their neighbours and four-time World Cup winner Pakistan in Pool D, along with Wales and England in the four-team pool. The top-placed team in this pool will qualify for the quarterfinals, while the next two teams will play in crossover matches.
Following a thrilling draw ceremony held at the Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, where participating teams and athletes learned their group stage opponents, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has now confirmed the match schedule for the World Cup.
The 1975 World Cup winner, India, will begin their campaign in the 16-team men's competition against Wales on August 15, at 4:30 PM IST, and will face fourth-ranked England on August 17 at the Wagener Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen.
England will also play Pakistan in another key match in Pool D on August 15.
The first round matches will be held until August 20, and the knockout stage matches will be played from August 21 onwards.
Meanwhile, the Indian women's hockey team will begin their campaign against World No. 4 and Asian Champion China at the Wagner Stadium in Amsterdam on August 16.
They will then face South Africa, the only team ranked lower than them in the World Rankings, on August 18, before concluding their first round proceedings with a match against World No. 7 England, the team they lost to in the World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad, India, on August 20.
The Men's and Women's Hockey World Cups, being jointly held for the first time by Belgium and the Netherlands, will begin with Australia women meeting Japan Women in the tournament opener on August 15.
In total, six matches, three in each section, will be played at two venues – the Wagner Stadium in Amstelveen and the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium – on the opening day of the competitions, which will be held from August 15 to 30.
India, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, and South Africa, have qualified in both the men's and women's sections of the competition. The Indian men qualified by winning the Asia Cup, while the women's team qualified by finishing second in the Qualifying tournament held in Hyderabad, Telangana.